The Portico’s new exhibition explores Manchester’s complex colonial relationships

A brand-new exhibition at The Portico will examine Britain’s complex colonial relations with China and Hong Kong.

Echoes invites audiences to engage with the Portico Library’s book collection and the communities who are reclaiming the colonial narrative, centring on the voices of five Critical Friends of Portico who have co-created the exhibition.

Bruce Lai, Deborah Ng, Jasmine Gardner, Jessie Tam, and Yichao Shi have come together to reflect on and distil their responses to the historical collection.

Their exploration has concentrated on Manchester’s Hong Kong and Chinese diaspora, and their reading of the collection delves into the retention and adaptation of identity, place and purpose, particularly through language, landscape, and calendar customs such as Lunar New Year celebrations.

The exhibition features commissioned artistic responses from Critical Friends and local filmmakers, which encapsulate a counternarrative to the Victorian collection.

These include “I think you’re wrong… England isn’t racist, I never hear any racism” – a white man from Essex called Andrew, 2020, Hand-cut papercut by Jasmine Gardner, Mother Tongues by Matthew Lingard and A Cloud Was Fallen from the Sky by Jessie Tam.

The exhibition has also been supported by the expertise of Walter Fung, Maxine Hunter and Fang Zong. Dr Thom Keep, CEO and Librarian of the Portico Library, welcomed the exhibition and said: “We’re delighted that Echoes opens the Portico Library and for the Lunar New Year in 2025. The Portico is across the road from the centre of China Town in Manchester.

“We hope many people who visit there come here and see our collection that has been interrogated by the enthusiasm, expertise and creativity of our critical friends. 2025 is a special year for us as we consult, prepare and fundraise for Reuniting the Portico Library, our capital development project funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. This exhibition will play an important role in thinking about how we critically reflect on and make more people aware of our historic collection.”

Echoes runs at The Portico from Mon 20 Jan – Fri 30 May. Entry is free, and you can book your slot for a special public opening on Fri 24 Jan using the button below.